Lover of books and book reviewer. Usually found in a comfy chair with a book.

Review of Kitty’s Countryside Dream

4 stars

Book blurb: New home. New life. New beginning. It’s time for Kitty Lewis to start living again . . .

When Kitty inherits Bluebell Lodge from her grandmother, a farm in the beautiful Staffordshire countryside, it’s time for fresh air and a fresh start. Up to her elbows in chickens and ponies, Kitty soon realises there’s an awful lot to learn about farming. Still, at least the locals seem friendly, not least her handsome neighbour Tom…

But just as Kitty is beginning to find her feet, the discovery of a long-hidden diary,at the farm, by a mysterious character called Violet changes everything. Who is Violet and what is her message for Kitty? As Kitty fills in the lost pieces of her family jigsaw and discovers some shocking revelations, will her countryside dream fall to pieces? When it comes to life in the country, nothing is ever quite as it seems …

My review: Having seen the cover reveal of this book I was thrilled to be able to get an advanced copy from NetGalley. Thanks to Bookouture and Christie Barlow for that. As I was between books, having just finished an excellent but intense detective story I decided that the timing of this book arrival was perfect and I was not disappointed. As this is a new book I’ve included the blurb above so won’t repeat it here but will say that there is so much more to this than the blurb covers. Aside from Tom and the lovely, but occasionally irritating Kitty, there is also Jeannie who works on the farm, her brother Robin, Lucinda the local bakery owner and a few other characters, all of whom are well-written and completely realistic. The setting of the story is also lovely and well-written but what is the focus in this book is Kitty’s life.

Until she inherited Bluebell Lodge she knew nothing about her grandmother and so the inheritance comes as a complete surprise. Moving into the flat she has also inherited she begins working on the chicken farm that comes with the Lodge and then finds Violet’s diary which slowly reveals a few family secrets along with the identity of Violet herself. While dealing with these revelations Kitty is also trying to understand her feelings towards Tom as well as making new friends and learning how to be a chicken farmer. There were a few instances in this book when Kitty irritated me (hence my earlier comment) as I could see what was coming and she was missing it completely. However, even when everything I had figured out was revealed there were still more shocks and surprises in store that had me reaching for some tissues.

This is an excellent book which swept me along so well that I read it in less than a day. I loved the characters and the story and will definitely be reading more by this author. This is definitely a book to read curled up with a mug of tea or hot chocolate.

The book is out on 25th February 2016 and is available to pre-order now.